Author: trafficblast

Use these combat and general tips to get an edge in fights and exploration.

The Star Trek Podcast: We nitpick “Choose Your Pain” and its very Trek-ian debate. Plus, fan theories, curse words, Lorca’s past, and much more!

UPDATE: An Activision representative provided the following statement to IGN:

“This was an exploratory patent filed in 2015 by an R&D team working independently from our game studios. It has not been implemented in-game.”

Activision has filed a patent for a microtransaction-driven system for matchmaking in multiplayer games.

As reported by Glixel, the patent was filed in back in 2015, and was officially granted to the publisher by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today, October 17.

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With the exception of WWE 2K16, the common thread of the WWE 2K games for the last few years has been “one step forward, at least two steps back.” WWE 2K18 does not break that trend. A new graphics engine makes the same fundamentally solid wrestling action look dramatically better, and the already enormous roster is bigger than ever before with 174 playable wrestlers right out of the box, but the primary single-player story mode is botched and none of the modes and features that needed the most work from last year’s game have been addressed.

The big new addition to the gameplay this year is the ability to lift and carry opponents in four different positions – fireman’s carry, cradle, over the shoulder, and power bomb – and then walk them around freely before slamming them. This opens up a number of fun options, especially for big men like Braun Strowman, who can hoist smaller wrestlers up and then power bomb them straight out of the ring. That feels awesome, especially when it’s in a Battle Royale or Royal Rumble match.

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Sony Interactive Entertainment Taiwan (SIET) announced a one-of-a-kind Gran Turismo Sport bundle for PS4, which includes a real car, and a higher price tag to match.

As spotted by NeoGAF users, SIET has sold a GT Sport bundle for a whopping $46,600. In addition to, of course, the game itself, the bundle features, among many other things, a limited edition 2018 Mazda MX-5.

The GT Sport bundle from SIET, via CK101.

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

While we didn’t get the time-jump the show seemed to be setting us up for, we were given a few strage left turns this week with “Valerie Solanas Died for Your Sins, Scumbag.”

By the end of it, everything we’d seen had been a ruse orchestrated by Kai and Frances Conroy’s Bebe Babbot. It was textbook puppeteering. But did that twist warrant an entire episode of flashbacks containing a reimagining of Solanas’ SCUM Manifesto as much more violent movement that everyone thought were the Zodiac killings? Normally when Horror Story dives headlong toward new territory it doesn’t feel this listless. The payoff didn’t quite warrant the journey here. We could have done with less time in the past (perhaps half as much time even) and more in the present. It was easy to spot, from the very beginning, that Kai wasn’t about to share power with anyone, but was that one cold shoulder from him really enough to drive Beverly into an entirely new cult?

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Blizzard announced today that Hearthstone is getting a new Halloween event. Called Hallow’s End, it features a new mode, a special Brawl, a new Hero, and some free card packs. It takes place from October 24 to November 6.

During the event, players can check out a new dual-class Arena mode that allows you to mix-and-match cards from two different Heroes. At the beginning of each Arena run in the dual-class mode, you select a Hero, a Hero Power from a different class, and cards from both classes. You can also expect to see your Hero appear in a Hallow’s End-themed costume.

Next, Blizzard is rolling out a new Tavern Brawl for the event, called The Headless Horseman Rides. This Brawl runs for three days, from October 24-27, and it features a couple tweaks and gameplay additions. At the beginning of the Brawl, you’ll get a costume, each of which has its own deck composed of cards from several classes. In addition, you’ll have a passive Hero power to work with.

Starting today, you can also grab a free Warlock Hero, Nemsy Necrofizzle, by participating in a Fireside Brawl in any Fireside Gathering Tavern. Nemsy will continue to be available after the event concludes.

Finally, players will get a bunch of free cards during the Hallow’s End event. During the first week, from 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM BST on October 24 to 11:59 PM PT / 2:59 AM ET / 7:59 AM BST on October 30/31, you can pick up the Whispers of the Old Gods card pack and an Arena Ticket. During the second week, you can get the Knights of the Frozen Throne Card Pack and another Arena Ticket.

For more Hearthstone, you can read about the cookbook with recipes inspired by the game, or what you’ll get with a BlizzCon virtual ticket. And you can see our roundup of all the games we know will be having Halloween events and updates right here.